Anyway, chapter 22 of Eclipsed Gambit is ready.
In this chapter we have:
1.Heinrix and Abelard glare at each other silently:
“Yes, Master Werserian. I have not vanished yet.”
“And the dynasty stands ready to accommodate your mission, esteemed Interrogator. As always.”
“I expect no less.”
Werserian’s eyes narrow. Heinrix stares back unmoved.
Beside them, the Lord Captain lets out a soft, joyless chuckle, serving only to break the silent glaring contest between them.
2. Abelard trying to keep the ship from falling apart:
"The thought of a death cult temple beneath the flagship's freight line is deeply unsettling.” The Seneschal exhales. “The spinners claimed to have ‘carved their sanctum from the ship’s bones’. I am speaking of hull integrity, Lord Captain. If they have compromised the keel, the consequences will be catastrophic.
3. Kibellah, skipping all the pleasantries and asks Heinrix to steal Pasqal's blood for her:
“I need the red priest’s blood.
He denied my petition. Said it was ‘not subject to appeal’. You are capable of extracting his blood regardless of his will. You are a master of the flesh, Veni’Heinrix.”
“Don’t—” Heinrix draws a slow breath, reins in the reflexive repulsion. “Do not call me that. Do not call anyone that.”
Kibellah likely uses the term without deliberately comparing him to the Haemonculi or something fouler still. To her, it is a liturgical epithet born of the sacramental reverence for anatomy common among death cults, a view that so often strays into borderline heresy.
Even if she had sought his assistance properly, Heinrix would not extract Magos Haneumann’s blood without his consent for dubious death cult rituals.
4. And Idira being deeply suspicious of a kind Interrogator.
“Talk to her before it’s too late,” he says. The words sound foreign to his own ears. “I mean Vigdis.”
“What? No… NO!” Idira snaps, her posture tightening defensively like a spooked beast. “She has nothing to do with my problem. You leave her alone! Is this some interrogation trick, iceman? You plan to listen in so you can find something to use against us, or against Lady Dandera?”
“It’s advice. From one psyker to another.”
“You’ve changed. Somehow.” She squints at him suspiciously. “What has gotten into you, iceman? I thought I was the busy one, getting carried through the loading bay, the medicae deck, and the so-called ‘Sanctuary Chamber’ like a sack. But you look like you found some life-shattering revelation while I was napping. Why are you doing any of this?”
